Ryan Clady deal with Denver Broncos moved along after shoulder checked out OK

Ryan Clady: "I think this is a big year for us as a team because, you know, we're stacked." (Denver Post file)

As Mike Shanahan wrapped up his final draft as the Broncos' head coach in 2008, he offered this tidy prediction about what turned out to be his last No. 1 pick for the team: "Ryan Clady will be a great one for a long time. This guy is one of those kinds of players."

Five seasons and plenty of road traveled for the Broncos, the team still agrees and has elevated Clady to one of its foundation players, having signed the 26-year-old left tackle to a five-year, $52.5 million deal. The deal could be worth $5 million more if Clady earns every incentive in it regarding selections to All-Pro teams.

It puts the 6-foot-6, 315-pound Clady, both financially and in terms of expectations, on the NFL's short list at left tackle, one that includes Cleveland's Joe Thomas, considered the benchmark at the position by many personnel executives in the league.

"It definitely puts me in some good company, up there with Joe Thomas," Clady said Monday on a conference call. "I've been working hard. ... I think this is a big year for us as a team because, you know, we're stacked. Definitely have a lot of expectations — Super Bowl or bust for the most part. It's a lot of pressure. ... Definitely a big step with us this year."

The contract was the hard-earned result of more than a year of back-and-forth discussions over a long-term deal, talks that included Clady turning away a five-year, $50 million deal last year. And it was a willingness by both sides to give a little, as well as a favorable medical exam in recent weeks, that finally got the deal done.

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Clady, who turns 27 on Sept. 6, had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder after the 2012 season and because he had elected to stay away from the Broncos offseason program, team officials had not seen the level of his recovery with their eyes even as they tried to hammer out a contract.

But after the conclusion of Broncos' minicamp last month, head trainer Steve Antonopulos visited Clady in California and examined the shoulder. Clady also then had a follow-up visit with his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, in Florida, and Andrews' report was available to the Broncos as well.

"Definitely, I think that was one of the (big) things," Clady said. "About a month ago (Antonopulos ) came and checked me out. ... I think that had a big part in the movement."

So much so, after the exam, the Broncos upped their offer twice — to $51.5 million, then $52.5 million, and upped the guaranteed total. Clady and his representatives, seeing a deal on horizon with a Super Bowl contender, also compromised as well, lowering demands on the deal's total and per-year average.

Clady's recovery skills, both from injury and in pass protection, are documented, given he also had surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his knee before the 2010 season, but still rebounded to start 16 games that year. Clady has been named to the Pro Bowl three times, including the past two (he did not play this past year because of his shoulder injury).

"Early in the offseason I thought it would get done," Clady said. "There was a time when I possibly thought it would not get done, you know especially with the market being what it is

"It's a business, there was never any ... disrespect or anything like, it was part of the process."

Offensive line coach Dave Magazu sent Clady the playbook the team used in recent organized team activities (OTAs). Clady will begin to study the changes first-year offensive coordinator Adam Gase has made to the Broncos' scheme before Clady returns to Dove Valley in the coming days.

As part of the team's offensive menu, Gase has said he wants the team to be able to run the no-huddle look "as fast as humanly possible" when they see the opportunity to take advantage of that.

Clady will not be ready to participate fully when training camp begin July 25 — "I'm not quite 100 percent" — but the Broncos expect Clady to be ready to be in practices by mid- to late-August. He is on track to be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 5 against Baltimore in Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Clady has not missed a game in his career with 80 consecutive regular-season starts to go with three playoff starts.